Preview: Charlton Athletic vs Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

Both aiming to bounce back from defeats on their return from the October international break, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday will do battle in Championship action at The Valley on Saturday.

The hosts fell short against Preston North End last time out to drop into the bottom half, while their visitors remained in the relegation zone after a heavy defeat to Coventry City.

Match preview

Charlton Athletic return to action at The Valley on Saturday aiming to make a return to winning ways and move back within touching distance of the Championship playoff spots.

After winning promotion through the League One playoffs last time around, the Addicks have enjoyed a creditable start thus far, earning 12 points from their first nine games having won three and lost three of those while only conceding eight goals.

Two of those victories came consecutively in late September, as they beat Sheffield United 1-0 away from home and Blackburn Rovers 3-0 at The Valley thanks to goals from Macaulay Gillesphey, Sonny Carey and James Bree.

Nathan Jones's side failed to carry that momentum into the international break, though, going on to draw 1-1 with Derby County before most recently hosting visiting Preston North End in early October and leaving empty-handed as Thierry Small and Daniel Jebbison condemned them to a 2-0 loss with second-half goals.

Now sitting 13th on their return from the break, but just three points behind fifth-placed Stoke City, Charlton Athletic will hope to bounce back on Saturday and move back towards the right end of the division with a fourth league win of the season on Saturday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head south aiming to escape the bottom three with a return to winning ways of their own.

Sheffield Wednesday faced a tough 2025-26 season from the outset, following wide-scale departures over the summer and continued off-field issues, and under the new management of Henrik Pedersen they find themselves 23rd on six points from nine outings.

The young Owls squad have struggled at both ends of the pitch, with only two sides scoring fewer than their eight goals and no other team conceding as many as the 20 they have allowed.

Their sole league victory thus far came away at Portsmouth in mid-September, and then on the back of creditable draws with Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City, Pedersen's men hosted Coventry City before the break and suffered a 5-0 beating as Brandon Thomas-Asante hit a brace alongside goals from Haji Wright, Ellis Simms and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

With fan concerns and discontentment around club ownership continuing to grow, after a protest briefly halted play against Coventry, and most recently facing a winding-up petition in relation to HMRC debt, Sheffield Wednesday will aim to bounce back and lift spirits with what would be an impressive win on the road on Saturday.

Charlton Athletic Championship form:

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Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

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Team News

Charlton Athletic will likely remain without defender Josh Edwards and attacker Matt Godden on Saturday due to ongoing injuries.

Nathan Jones may stick with a 3-4-1-2 setup, with Amari'i Bell likely to return to the defence from the outset, while Greg Docherty and Conor Coventry are mainstays in the engine room.

James Bree has been a key man on the right-hand side since his summer arrival, while Sonney Carey will support a front two with Tyreece Campbell, Charlie Kelman, Miles Leaburn and Isaac Olaofe battling to start up front.

Sheffield Wednesday's already thin squad has been hit further this season, with goalkeeper Pierce Charles, defender Dominic Iorfa, midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah and winger Olaf Kobacki all sidelined by injuries.

Those concerns deepened in the international break, with young defender Ernie Weaver also now ruled out, meaning Gabriel Otegbayo may now come into the defence alongside Dominic Iorfa and Max Lowe.

Ike Ugbo and George Brown will compete for attacking spots after Bailey Cadamarteri and Jamal Lowe led the line against Coventry, while talismanic captain Barry Bannan remains their key man in the centre, with the 35-year-old having scored two and assisted two of their eight league goals this term.

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Bell, Jones, Gillesphey; Bree, Coventry, Docherty, Ramsay; Carey; Kelman, Olaofe

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Otegbayo, Iorfa, M Lowe; Palmer, Valery, Bannan, Ingelsson, Amass; Cadamarteri, J Lowe

We say: Charlton Athletic 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday have fought bravely in spite of tough circumstances this season, but with injuries stacking up, we do not see them having the quality to match a fresh Charlton Athletic side on their travels.

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